Thank you for these insightful comments about your reaction to all we saw and did in Alaska. And thanks for adding the Alaska Native Heritage Center to our itinerary. Most of all, thank you for bringing your perspectives and your family along on the trip.
Thank you Jessica for sharing your adventure with such detail, I became immersed in your experience and want to learn more. Also, thank you for the bear postcard 🩷. Today, I am in FL at a justice conference with other justice folks from around the US. Thanks again!! Jan
I've always wanted to visit Alaska, almost did in 2012 when I was still living in the US, but then too much else happened and... well, I didn't. Hopefully I will still one day, although now I would have much further to travel then back then. Still, it's odd how some places you have never visited seem to call to you and Alaska is one such place for me.
Thank you also for the introduction to Ernestine Hayes - I will definitely check her book.
Thanks for your note — I completely agree that some places call to us and that places have moods and lessons for different longings in life. I hope you get to Alaska one day!
A beautiful description, Jessica. I'm so glad we were able to make this journey together and share the magic. I hope the memories will last a lifetime for all of us.
I share your hope that the local food movement will expand to include a local fiber movement. And one of these days, I want to start to learn to make baskets.
Thank you for these eloquent postcard impressions, Alaska is truly majestic. That initial photo of the bear (!) is the metaphorical stance I’m taking for the rest of the summer…
Thanks for sharing your Alaska adventures and discoveries. Brought back memories of a summer spent in Skagway in 1961 and what I learned about Alaska and myself. I had two jobs there that summer and got to know a few of the local people who enriched my experience with stories about the town, the history and why they had moved there. I also had a friend who was a welder who had built his own large boat so I had the benefits of experiences on land and water. We watched for the plane every day that brought the mail. Not many cruises that I recall that came all the way to Skagway which was the terminus for the inland passage. After that it was by rail or air to go farther inland until connecting with the Alcan highway. I made it all the way to Fairbanks at the end of the summer before returning to Juneau via the Alaska Railroad.
Thanks for reading and sharing your own memories! It is hard to imagine Skagway before cruise ships. Your 1961 experience sounds so interesting. It’s a pretty town now, but definitely caters to the cruise traffic. While we were in port, I rode on the White Pass Railroad and drank Spruce Tip Beer 😊
We called the WP&YR (White Pass and Yukon Route) Wait Patiently and You'll Ride. One of my friends, Dave, worked for the railroad and I took that train to its northern terminus at Whitehorse at the end of summer, before catching bus to Fairbanks We overnighted at Tok Junction as I recall and I connected with the bus driver, a graduate student in geology, who took us home to share dinner. I was also a part-time bus driver back in NJ while in graduate school so we had a lot in common. The stop at Carcross (Caribou Crossing) is as far as most of the tourists traveled. Not sure if that's still true. As for the beer, I don't remember that brand.
Another lovely post! It was good to see you the other night and better yet to read your post-trip reflections here. Now I need to read THE TAO OF RAVEN! Thanks, Jessica.
We love Alaska!! So glad you got to go and explore. Also glad to know about this book. The light is amazing, isn’t it? During the past two weeks, we’ve been in Finland, which is a similar latitude. It’s so cool that it never really gets dark. Summer is serious business here. 😉
That anorak is stunning. Enjoyed your thoughts on locavore clothing. Finland has wonderful textiles - much of it based on linen and flax, as well as wool, of course. That’s cool that Wisconsin is reviving traditions too.
Thank you for these insightful comments about your reaction to all we saw and did in Alaska. And thanks for adding the Alaska Native Heritage Center to our itinerary. Most of all, thank you for bringing your perspectives and your family along on the trip.
Thank you 🙏
Thank you Jessica for sharing your adventure with such detail, I became immersed in your experience and want to learn more. Also, thank you for the bear postcard 🩷. Today, I am in FL at a justice conference with other justice folks from around the US. Thanks again!! Jan
Lovely postcard, Jessica, thank you for sharing!
I've always wanted to visit Alaska, almost did in 2012 when I was still living in the US, but then too much else happened and... well, I didn't. Hopefully I will still one day, although now I would have much further to travel then back then. Still, it's odd how some places you have never visited seem to call to you and Alaska is one such place for me.
Thank you also for the introduction to Ernestine Hayes - I will definitely check her book.
Thanks for your note — I completely agree that some places call to us and that places have moods and lessons for different longings in life. I hope you get to Alaska one day!
A beautiful description, Jessica. I'm so glad we were able to make this journey together and share the magic. I hope the memories will last a lifetime for all of us.
I share your hope that the local food movement will expand to include a local fiber movement. And one of these days, I want to start to learn to make baskets.
Again, thank you for these essays.
I think you’d love making baskets! Thank you for reading — the experience was epic and continues to unfold. The memories will surely last a lifetime.
Thank you for these eloquent postcard impressions, Alaska is truly majestic. That initial photo of the bear (!) is the metaphorical stance I’m taking for the rest of the summer…
That bear has the best vibe to manifest ☀️ 💦 😌 Thanks for sharing and reading!
Thanks for sharing your Alaska adventures and discoveries. Brought back memories of a summer spent in Skagway in 1961 and what I learned about Alaska and myself. I had two jobs there that summer and got to know a few of the local people who enriched my experience with stories about the town, the history and why they had moved there. I also had a friend who was a welder who had built his own large boat so I had the benefits of experiences on land and water. We watched for the plane every day that brought the mail. Not many cruises that I recall that came all the way to Skagway which was the terminus for the inland passage. After that it was by rail or air to go farther inland until connecting with the Alcan highway. I made it all the way to Fairbanks at the end of the summer before returning to Juneau via the Alaska Railroad.
Thanks for reading and sharing your own memories! It is hard to imagine Skagway before cruise ships. Your 1961 experience sounds so interesting. It’s a pretty town now, but definitely caters to the cruise traffic. While we were in port, I rode on the White Pass Railroad and drank Spruce Tip Beer 😊
We called the WP&YR (White Pass and Yukon Route) Wait Patiently and You'll Ride. One of my friends, Dave, worked for the railroad and I took that train to its northern terminus at Whitehorse at the end of summer, before catching bus to Fairbanks We overnighted at Tok Junction as I recall and I connected with the bus driver, a graduate student in geology, who took us home to share dinner. I was also a part-time bus driver back in NJ while in graduate school so we had a lot in common. The stop at Carcross (Caribou Crossing) is as far as most of the tourists traveled. Not sure if that's still true. As for the beer, I don't remember that brand.
Another lovely post! It was good to see you the other night and better yet to read your post-trip reflections here. Now I need to read THE TAO OF RAVEN! Thanks, Jessica.
Always great to connect! I enjoy your perspective and appreciate the note! 📚 Enjoy summer!
We love Alaska!! So glad you got to go and explore. Also glad to know about this book. The light is amazing, isn’t it? During the past two weeks, we’ve been in Finland, which is a similar latitude. It’s so cool that it never really gets dark. Summer is serious business here. 😉
That anorak is stunning. Enjoyed your thoughts on locavore clothing. Finland has wonderful textiles - much of it based on linen and flax, as well as wool, of course. That’s cool that Wisconsin is reviving traditions too.
Finland! I’d love to learn more about that Nordic culture and textiles! Enjoy and thanks for your comment 🙏